ANS accepts students who, among other things, are capable of succeeding in school.  This implies that we expect each student to reach graduation.  Some capable students require assistance in the school environment because of certain disabilities, to help them demonstrate curricular competence.   

The Learning Support Specialist coordinates efforts to help those students with Learning Disabilities , any of the varieties of Attention Deficit Disorder , and other delimiting conditions, by maintaining close contact with those students, their parents, and teachers.   

An Individual Education Plan (IEP) is a written agreement among the school, its teachers, parents, and the student as to the special learning needs and the strategies most suited to help the student be successful.  IEP's are constructed to mediate the effects of disabilities that militate against a student's ability to demonstrate academic competence.  This student population is that which is deemed capable of achieving graduation at ANS.

The School constructs an IEP derived from assessment information that is made available.  This information may be in the form of a psycho educational assessment independently pursued from a reputable agency here, in the United States, or elsewhere.  The IEP is used to direct the relevant and reasonable accommodations associated with academic success.  The IEP is finalized at a joint meeting of all concerned, and it will follow the student through the grades until and unless it is deemed wise to revisit the document, or learning problems have been resolved sufficiently to terminate the IEP agreement.  In the case where the School concludes that an IEP is warranted, the school will move to IEP construction only upon the expressed request of the parent(s).  Likewise, the parent(s) may direct the termination of an IEP agreement. 

The strategies or interventions contained in an IEP are referred to as “accommodations”, and they are the ideas that describe the different methods of instructional delivery as well as differentiated ways to assess learning.  In such cases, it is important to be clear that the student will continue to function in the regular program and will be expected to learn and demonstrate learning at the same level as others in the class.  The accommodations describe the alternative routing to the achievement destination.

An IEP is not a “ticket” to passing grades; rather it resides in the background to help the student achieve to the same level as those without IEP's.  Students with IEP's are often expected to spend even more time at their studies than their peers to successfully overcome the effects of the disabilities involved.  The intent of an IEP is not to make it easier, only to make it possible!

Not all students with disabilities need IEP's.  It may be that the extent of the disability does not rise to a level that interferes significantly with academic achievement.  Or, it may be that the effects of the disability are currently “under control” (as in the case of a prescriptive medication regime that moderates hyperactivity).  Or, it may be that the student and parents prefer not to be “centered out”, for a host of social or emotional reasons.  The overriding principle is that the strategies embedded in the IEP should be the minimum required, in the interests of fostering greater independence over time.

    It is an important objective that students with special needs learn how to speak up for themselves and develop productive working relationships with teachers and other staff.

There exist many sophisticated definitions of learning and other disabilities.  However, the most dominant characteristic of a student who possesses a disability significant enough to interfere with normal academic progress is the informal observation of “gaps”.  Typically, the usual observation is a curious gap between a student's apparent ability and achievement in relation to certain academic tasks.

An IEP is in no way a substitute for achievement in all subjects, as academic standards are not altered - only the various ways whereby students might meet those standards.